1. Spice up your diet
Adding spices to your diet doesn’t only boost your immune system – it also helps your body with clearing out all the nasty stuff, not least any congestion in your nasal passages in your lungs. Add small amounts of garlic, oregano, turmeric, onions, and ginger, to your regular diet. Seeing as Christmas is just around the corner, you can also try spicing some apple sauce with cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon.
All the foods I’ve just mentioned contain strong antibacterial properties, which help keep the winter bugs well away. If you have children, you might want to consider temporarily cutting out dairy from their diet and giving them multivitamins or immune boosters for a few days until the phlegm clears up.
2. Sleep well
Note that a blocked nose is always much worse at night-time, making it difficult to breathe and causing you to snore. Consider a saline spray and/or nose aspirators in order to keep your airways clear of phlegm. Another soothing way of clearing your airways is to inhale steam from a bowl of boiling water. You could even add a warm bath at the end of the day to your routine if you find that you’re consistently congested.
3. Get loads of fresh air
The colder air of the winter months tends to make all of us spend a lot more time indoors, but the reality is that for the sake of our health, we still need to ensure we get enough fresh air. Regardless of how cold it is outside, you’ll be fine if you wrap up in suitably warm clothing. In fact, taking a brisk walk is one of the best ways of drying out mucus and phlegm.
Fresh air opens up your lungs and increases blood flow, and this means that any bugs lurking in your system can be flushed out much more quickly than if you were to spend nine hours a day indoors.
4. Keep your bowels moving!
Many people don’t actually realize this, but constipation can hinder your immune function, thus leaving you more susceptible to illness. The usual cause of a sluggish digestive system is food stagnating in the intestines, which in turn can lead to toxic build-up, poor elimination and increased mucus formation.
These symptoms can be alleviated by drinking more water and eating foods which contain plenty of natural fiber, such as seasonal greens and fresh fruit.
5. Make your own phlegm-busting cordial
Here's how:
1. Place a few sprigs of thyme in a teapot.
2. Add a pint of boiling water.
3. Throw in a few sticks of cinnamon bark and several slices of freshly-chopped ginger.
4. Leave to infuse for about 10-15 minutes.
5. Once the water has cooled, strain and mix with a jar of good-quality honey.
6. Add roughly half a bag of brown sugar.
7. Heat the mixture in a saucepan until it begins to thicken.
8. Leave the resulting syrup to cool and store in the refrigerator.
Take a teaspoon of this syrup every morning, or add it to warm water infused with lemon juice for a delicious bedtime drink.
Content Source: Downs Side Up
Images by Deposit Photos.
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